Innovations

Class(ic) projects
Introduction: This is the eighth edition of our annual summary of abstracts prepared by students in the 2010 Greenhouse Crop Production class at the University of Guelph. There were four projects in total.

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Biocontrol for broad mites
Broad mites, or Polyphagotarsonemus latus, can be a serious pest of greenhouse peppers and a wide range of greenhouse ornamental plants including: gerbera, African violet, cyclamen, begonias, impatiens, verbena and gloxinia.

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Special Series in the rootzone #4: Water and EC management
In the fourth of six articles for Greenhouse Canada, Grodan® Crop Consultant ANDREW LEE outlines how to set up an irrigation strategy using real-life examples from his experience as a consultant.

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Seeder innovator earns Premier’s Award
July 23, 2010, Drumbo, Ont. – John Malecki of J. Malecki Holdings Ltd. knows how to sow with precision.

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Great Northern project draws Premier’s praise

July 22, 2010, Kingsville, Ont. – The massive cogen project at Great Northern Hydroponics has attracted provincial recognition.

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Burt’s Greenhouses warms up to wood waste
July 20, 2010, Odessa, Ont. – When Brian Burt and Alex English were looking into biomass heating systems for their greenhouses, they could not find exactly what they needed, so they re-designed an existing system from the ground up.

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Traceability innovators at Cedar Beach Acres
July 16, 2010, Kingsville, Ont. – A computerized traceability program has earned Cedar Beach Acres one of 55 regional awards in the Premier’s Award for Agri-Food Innovation Excellence program.

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WUR: how dangerous viroids in plants are spread
July 26, 2010, Wageningen, the Netherlands – The dangerous potato spindle tuber viroid (PSTVd) mainly ends up in tomato plants as a result of human actions. The main source of infection appears to be ornamental shrubs, with infection via seeds rarely if ever playing a role.

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